Refrigerator.



T. HENDERSON.

REFRIGERATOR.

APPLICATION rum) guns 22. 1009.

955,872, Pafiented Apr. 26, 1916.

ANDREW B. GRANAH m. wo'lq-umm'mnzna wAsnmaw L1 0 THOMAS HENDERSON, 0F MART, TEXAS.

REFRIGERATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 26, 1910.

Application filed June 22, 1909. Serial No. 503,686.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS HENDERSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Mart, in the county of McLennan and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Refrigerator, of which the following is a specification.

The objects of the invention are, generally, the provision in a merchantable form, of a device of the class above mentioned, which shall be inexpensive to manufacture, facile in operation, and devoid of complicated parts; specifically, the provision of a housing of novel and improved construction; of shelves adapted to be mounted within the housing; of novel means for retaining the shelves in place within the housing; of novel means for assembling an absorbent element with the walls of the housing; and of novel means for saturating and draining the absorbent element; other and further objects being made manifest hereinafter as the description of the invention progresses.

The invention consists in the novel construction and arran ement of parts hereinafter described, de ineated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly'pointed out in that portion of this instrument wherein patentable novelty is claimed for certain distinctive and peculiar features of the device, it being understood, that, within the scope of what hereinafter thus is claimed, divers changes in the form, size, proportions and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advan tages of the invention.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to denote corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawlngs.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section; Fig. 2 is a vertical longitudinal section; Fig. 3 is a perspective, parts being broken away; Fig. 4: is a shelves; Fig. 5 is a detail perspective of the lower end of one of the corner uprights.

The invention includes a bottom tray 1 through which pass upri hts 2, spaced inwardly from the side of the tray. The uprights 2 which are the corner members of the refrigerator, are united at their tops by an open frame 3. This frame 3 is adapted to receive a tray 4, hereinafter referred to detail perspective of one of the' as the top tray, provided with outstanding handles 5 adapted to engage the open frame 3, whereby the top tray 4; may be retained therein, the said top tray constituting a closure for the cooler. The uprights 2 are united by foraminous sides 6 and these sides extend downward into the bottom tray 1.

The cooler is adapted to be inclosed by an absorbent member 7, the upper extremity of which dips into the top tray 4, the lower end thereof being arranged to drain into the bottom tray 1, between the lower extremities of the foraminous sides 6 and the upstanding edgcs 21 of the bottom tray. The absorbent member 7 is adapted to bear against the sides 6, this contact between the absorbentmember and the sides being promoted and maintained by wedging the lower edge of the absorbent member 7 between the upstanding edges 21 of the bottom tray 1 and the lower extremities of the sides 6 which extend downward into the bottom tray. l'Vhen the top tray is filled with water, the member 7 will slowly absorb the same, the water followin the absorbent member downward, and ultimately collecting in the bottom tray from which it may be removed through a suitably disposed drainage aperture 19. Since the absorbent member 7 is in contact with the sides 6 throughout the major portion of their length, not only' will the contents of the refrigerator be surrounded by an absorbent member well saturated with cool liquid, but as well by a foraminous element, the interstices of which are filled with the cooling liquid. The device will therefore be inclosed by two walls of cooling liquid, between which is included a dead air space.

The uprights 2 are united, at the front and the back of the device, by means of transverse braces 8, each com rising a horizontal flange 9 and a vertical ti ange 10, the braces being oppositely disposed. The uprights 2, like the braces 8, are fashioned with rectangularly disposed flanges 11 and 15, the vertical flanges 10 of the braces 8 being assembled with the flanges 15 of the uprights which said flan es are disposed at the front and the back of the refrigerator, the braces 8 being arranged to abut, terminally, against the flanges 11 of the uprights which said flanges are located at the ends of the cooler. These braces 8 are adapted to uphold the shelves 12, of which there may be any numto form resilient clips 14 adapted to bear against the foraminous sides 6 to hold the same outwardly against the flanges 11 of' theuprights. The shelves are downbent at their sides, to form resilient clips 16, which are adapted, at once, to rest upon the horizontal flanges 9 of the braces to uphold the shelves, and to engage, yieldingly, the vertical flanges 10 of the braces 8, to cooperate with the resilient clips 14, in holding the shelves in place.

The front of the refrigerator, which is open, may be closed by swinging doors 17 maintained in locked position by any suitable latch mechanism denoted generally by the numeral 18. The lower extremities of the uprights 2 maybe split and out-bent to form feet 20, the said feet being apertured to receive support engaging means of any desired form.

It will be seen that the handles 5 must, of necessity, outstand beyond the contour of the refrigerator, in order that the upper tray 3 may readily be removed and replaced.

These outstanding handles 5, however, tend to prevent the absorbent member 7 from lying closely against the sides 6. This difliculty is overcome by wedging the lower end of the absorbent member within the lower tray 1, as seen most clearly in Fig. 3; moreover, the resilient clips 14: at the ends of the shelves 12 are adapted to bear against the elements 6, beneath the handles 5, thus holding the members 6 outwardly, beneath the handles 5 and, together with the wedging ofthe absorbent member in place, denoted by the numeral 21, serving to overcome any disadvantage incident to outstanding positions of the handles 5.

l-Iaving thus described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to pro-t the bottom tray and spaced from the side walls thereof; an open frame carried by the upper ends of the uprights; a top tray located within the frame and having handles arranged to outstand beyond the contour of the refrigerator; foraminous sides se cured to the inner faces of the uprights and extended at their lower ends within the bottom tray; oppositely disposed braces uniting the uprights; an absorbent member inclosing the uprights and having its upper end disposed in the upper tray, its lower end being wedged between the side walls of the lower tray and the foraminous sides, to maintain the absorbent member and the sides in contact; and shelves resting upon the braces and provided at their ends, beneath the handles, with resilient clips adapted to bear against the foraminous sides, to force the same outwardly against the uprights.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto afiixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS HENDERSON. Witnesses WV. E. SMITH, L. F. REDDOCH. 

